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TOEFL READING PRACTICE WITH ANSWERS
TOEFL 5 (READING PASSAGE 2)
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Questions
9-20
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Despite
the road improvements of the turnpike era (1790-1830). Americans continued
as in colonial times to depend wherever possible on water routes for travel
and transportation. The larger rivers, especially the Mississippi and the
Ohio, became increasingly useful as steamboats grew in number and improved
in design.
River
boats carried to New Orleans the corn and other crops of northwestern
farmers, the cotton and tobacco of southwestern planters. From New Orleans,
ships took the cargoes on to eastern seaports. Neither the farmers of the
west nor the merchants of the east were completely satisfied with this pattern
of trade. Farmers could get better prices for their crops if the
alternative existed of sending them directly eastward to market and
merchants could sell larger quantities of their manufactured goods if these
could be transported more directly and more economically to the west.
New
waterways were needed. Sectional jealousies and constitutional scruples
stood in the way of action by the federal government and necessary
expenditures were too great for private enterprise. If extensive canals
were to be dug, the job would be up to the various states.
New
York was the first to act. It had the natural advantage of a comparatively
level route between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, through the only break
in the entire Appalachian Mountain chain. Yet the engineering tasks were
imposing. The distance was more than 350 miles and there were ridges to
cross and a wilderness of woods and swamps to penetrate. The Erie Canal begun
in 1817 and completed in 1825, was by far the greatest construction job
that Americans had ever undertaken. It quickly proved a financial success
as well. The prosperity of the Erie encouraged the state to enlarge its
canal system by building several branches.
The
range of the New York canal system was still further extended when the
states of Ohio and Indiana, inspired by the success of the Erie Canal,
provided water connections between Lake Erie and the Ohio River.
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9. What does the passage suggest was the principal route for
transporting crops to the east prior in 1825?
(A) River to road
(B) Canal to river
(C) River to ocean
(D) Road to canal.
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10. It can be inferred from the passage that shipping cargo east by
way of New Orleans was
(A) Advantageous for manufactures
(B) Inexpensive for merchants
(C) Not economical for farmers
(D) Considered economical by the government
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11. The word "alternative" in line 9 is closest in meaning
to
(A) option
(B) transition
(C) intention
(D) authorization
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12. The word "them" in line 9 refers to
(A) crops
(B) farmers
(C) prices
(D) merchants
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13. Which of the following products would a northwestern farmer in
the early nineteenth century be most likely to purchase from the east?
(A) Grain
(B) Vegetables
(C) Textiles
(D) Fruit.
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14. According to the passage, where was the Erie Canal located?
(A) Between Ohio and Indiana.
(B) Along the Appalachian Mountains
(C) Between Lake Erie and the Ohio River
(D) Across New York State.
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15. The word "imposing" in line 18 could best be replaced
by
(A) impractical
(B) successful
(C) demanding
(D) misleading
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16. The word "penetrate" in line 20 is closest in meaning
to
(A) cut down
(B) go through
(C) fill up
(D) take over
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17. The word "its" in line 22 refers to
(A) prosperity
(B) Erie
(C) System
(D) State
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18. The word "extended" in line 24 is closest in meaning to
(A) increased
(B) constructed
(C) deepened
(D) measured
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19. According to the passage, Indiana and Ohio supported the
development of the New York canal system by
(A) helping to build the Erie Canal.
(B) Building branches to connect it with the Ohio River
(C) Providing much of the water for the Erie Canal.
(D) Contributing financial
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20. What does the paragraph following the passage probably discuss?
(A) Industry on Lake Erie
(B) Canals in Ohio and Indiana
(C) Sectional jealousies in Indiana and Ohio
(D) Travel on the Erie Canal.
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CLICK HERE FOR READING PASSAGE 1
CLICK HERE FOR READING POST TEST
ANSWER KEY
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9. C
10. C
11. A
12. A
13. C
14. D
15. C
16. B
17. D
18. A
19. B
20. B
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